Jenna and the Choice
by John Reed
Summary: Jenna is learning Elena's secrets.  Will she keep them?  Continuation of the "Vampires and Witches and Elena" group of stories.  This story begins in the last chapter of "Protecting Jeremy"...
1. Help, Love and Trails

No Call for Help?

Jenna was so stunned by the recent events that she couldn't move. She just stood there watching as Bonnie and Stefan stood talking next to where Rick had been placed on the couch.

But her mind was racing. So many questions.

Why weren't they calling an ambulance or the police? Why did they just stand there talking? Why had Stefan said Rick was dead? Could he really tell? Why weren't they doing something?

Who had forced their way into her home and dragged her outside? Why did Stefan and Damon arrive to help her almost immediately? Why were they there at the same time? Though both visited with Elena at home, she never saw them there at the same time anymore.

And where was Elena? She was supposed to be spending the night with Bonnie.

Why wouldn't Bonnie let Damon in when he brought Rick? How did Stefan move so fast while carrying her. Where was Jeremy?

But mostly, why were they standing around instead of helping Rick?

"Were they being compelled?" Bonnie asked

"I couldn't tell." Stefan answered. "The vampire was obviously in charge, but it all happened so fast. I'm really not sure what they were even after."

"Elena. What else could they be after?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter. We've got to find them and take them out before they have another chance."

"I tried to call her, but it went to voicemail."

"She turns her phone off when working for Katherine," Stefan said. "At least the phone we can call – she leaves the Katherine phone on, but won't give us the number. She says she wants to know who's calling when that phone rings."

"How long will she be gone?" Bonnie asked.

"She's supposed to be back before dawn. You know she's supposed to be staying here, right? If Jenna asks."

"She told me, but I don't think that excuse is going to hold up now."

They both looked at Jenna, knowing the secret was blown, wondering how to help her.

"Can you call Katherine and tell her?" Bonnie asked.

Stefan shook his head. "Elena can, maybe Damon – I don't know. But I can't."

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Bonnie asked Stefan, pointing to Alaric.

"Not really. It wasn't long last time. Could be any time now."

Bonnie moved to Jenna and pulled her towards a chair. "Please sit down."

Jenna did, asking "Is he really…?" She could not finish.

"He's fine, or he will be," Bonnie replied.

"I saw him get shot. Stefan said he was dead. He is not fine. Why aren't we helping him?"

"Because he doesn't need help," Bonnie replied.

* * *

True Love?

There was a knock at Bonnie's door. When Bonnie and Stefan opened, Damon was letting Jeremy climb down from his back on the doorstep.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked as Damon turned to leave.

"Stay here with the others." Damon replied.

"Did you call Elena?" Stefan asked, thinking she might have given him the other number.

"Left a message."

"How about Katherine?" Stefan asked.

But Damon was gone.

Jeremy entered and went to Jenna, who was standing by Alaric now.

"Has he moved?" Jeremy asked.

Jenna looked at Jeremy. "You too?"

"Me too?"

"You just think he'll come out of it."

"Yeah. Me too." Jeremy said as they heard a knock at the door.

"Why won't they call someone for help?"

"Come on," he said, pulling her away from the couch, towards the door. "Let's see who it is."

Bonnie and Stefan opened the door together.

"Isobel," Bonnie and Stefan said together.

"May I see Rick?"

"You took me to Katherine," Bonnie said.

Isobel nodded. "I did. I did as she asked. We both have deals with Katherine, Bonnie, and they are for the same reason. You have pledged to use your power to protect Elena. I serve Katherine in exchange for her pledge to me to protect Elena. We want the same thing. May I see Rick?"

They could see that Isobel was concerned. She did not even look like a vampire. Her face showed none of the cold distance it usually had.

"She helped Elena," Jeremy said. "Elena trusts her."

"You could hurt..." Bonnie began.

"You could stop me. You know that. Please let me see him. I promise I will do no harm and never enter your home uninvited."

"No harm, no return." Bonnie said.

Isobel nodded.

Bonnie said "Come in" and moved aside. Isobel was instantly kneeling at the couch next to Alaric. Jenna had to gasp at Isobel's speed.

"Who is she?" Jenna asked.

"His wife – ex-wife," Stefan replied.

Isobel stroked his face briefly and moved her hand to his chest. She pulled it up to her face as she smelled blood.

"You could at least have cleaned him up," she said reprovingly.

"He wasn't bleeding." Stefan said.

"His heart has started again. He will bleed until the wound seals up. He's breathing again too. Jeremy, would you get some wet rags or towels for me? I can't stand to see him like this. He's in pain."

Jenna watched in stunned silence as Isobel and Jeremy attended to Alaric. His eyes had opened and he was starting to move.

'What is going on?' she thought to herself. "She may be ex, but she still has a thing for him," she said out loud to Stefan.

"Looks like." Stefan replied as he walked toward them. He helped Isobel place Alaric in a sitting position.

"How did you know about this?" Stefan asked Isobel.

"Katherine called."

"Damon must have reached her. Did she send you here?"

"Elena is on her way back. I will join her when she is back in town."

"I she all right?"

Isobel looked at Stefan. "I didn't talk to her, but she is well protected. We will find out who did this."

Jenna came over then. "Where is Elena?"

Isobel turned to her only briefly before returning her attention to Alaric. "I'll let her tell you that."

* * *

Ignore the Trail?

Damon answered his ringing cell phone. "Elena?"

"Damon. Are you all right?" Elena asked.

"Fine."

"Jenna and Jeremy?"

"Also fine. I just dropped Jeremy off at the Bennett house, where Jenna, Stefan, Bonnie and Rick are."

"Thank you. Are you with them?"

"No. Bonnie wouldn't let me in."

"No! That is not OK. How could she do that?"

"Elena, it's fine. I wouldn't have gone in anyway. I don't like it when you're in there either, but you know that."

"Still," she started, then decided to give it up. "Where are you then?"

"Your house. I'm finding a trail. I have some heads to rip off."

Elena was concerned now. "Damon, I'm on my way. Should be about an hour. Please wait for me."

"I took a bullet Elena. I'm not in the mood to wait for an hour."

"A bullet?" Elena asked. She wasn't told that. "Even more reason. Please Damon. I have a lot of help with me. We will find whoever did this. I'll call Bonnie and tell her to let you wait there for me."

"Not happening, Elena. When you get here, will you go to her house or will you come to wherever I am."

"I'll go to you, Damon. Just wait there for me. Please don't follow until I get there."

"I'll call Bonnie and tell her you'll be at her house in a couple of hours."

"What? Damon…"

"Think about it Elena. They are safe from vampires there. Bonnie and Stefan can handle any humans. Leave them there waiting until we've handled it."

"Ok. I agree," Elena said, sounding a little desperate. "But you wait for me at my house. Please."

"Sure, Elena. Anything you say."


	2. The Feelings and the Truth

The Worry

"Have you met her?" Jenna asked Jeremy, referring to Isobel. "You said Elena trusted her."

"I just saw them together once. It looked like she was helping Elena decide something. And they talked again just before we left."

"Do you know where Elena is?"

"No."

"Why won't they tell me? How do I know she's OK?" Jenna asked.

"We'd know if she wasn't. She has a lot of people looking out for her. Including that lady with Mr. Salzman."

Jenna just stared at Alaric. He was sitting up by himself now, almost looking normal now, though his clothes were a mess. He hadn't even glanced in her direction, his attention focused on Isobel, though she barely spoke to him.

"How can he be better now?" Jenna asked. "I saw him when he came in. They said he was dead, and he looked it to me."

"That, I really don't know," Jeremy said as he fingered his own ring. "I guess someone's looking out for him as well."

"Someone needs to explain all of this to me."

"You'll just get upset if I say Elena again, so ask Stefan or even Bonnie. They might tell you something."

* * *

Unspoken Feelings

Alaric had noticed Isobel even before he managed to open his eyes. He heard her voice, felt her touch. He couldn't speak, and he didn't know what he would say anyway. But it was her – at her best. Not the distant, cold Isobel that he had seen recently. This was the Isobel he loved.

But now that his eyes were open, now that he could see her clearly, now that he could speak, he didn't want to. She was withdrawing. What little she said was again cold and indifferent.

He had lost her again. He wanted her back as she was more than anything, but for whatever reason, she wouldn't do it.

"Thank you," Alaric whispered. He knew she would hear and she did. She caught his eyes briefly, and nodded.

"Still claiming you do not care about me?" Alaric asked.

"I never said that," Isobel replied, looking at him. Not cold or distant – this was good.

"Not with words. But you did some things."

"Everyone does things."

"Are you saying you do care?" Alaric was speaking softly. He had noticed Jenna was in the room. Not that he was hiding anything from her – this moment was just a little too intimate to be freely shared.

"Does it matter?" she asked. His Isobel was back. "We are in totally different places now."

"Not totally. Sometimes you are here helping Elena. Sometimes I help her. Not totally different."

"It's not enough, Rick. I am so happy to see you where you are, to see you doing what you want. To see others in your life you care about. But you can't be where you are and where I am at the same time. And you love where you are. You help take care of Elena. I could ask nothing else for you or of you."

"And are you happy where you are?" Alaric asked.

"That doesn't matter," Isobel said as she stood and picked up the remaining supplies used to help him. "I can't come back. I'm really lucky that I get to see you once in awhile, that I get to help my daughter sometimes. Given what I've done, I can expect no more."

* * *

The Witch and the Queen *****_(yeah, you fill in the blank)

Bonnie received a text from Elena – 'can we talk – alone?'

She understood, moved into a different room and called.

"Hey Bonnie. Is everyone safe?" Elena asked.

"Yes, everyone is. Even Alaric has recovered from being shot."

"Him too? I was only told that Jenna was attacked. What happened?"

"I wasn't there, but Stefan said that two humans forced there way into your house and pulled Jenna outside where there was a vampire waiting. Stefan and Damon were near – apparently as you asked them to be – and went to help. Alaric came a little later. One of them had a gun and shot him. Then they ran away, Stefan carried Jenna and Damon carried Alaric here."

"And Damon was shot too?"

"I don't know. He didn't stay."

"You mean you wouldn't invite him in. Bonnie…"

"Elena, you know how I feel. You know what there is between us. And you know he feels the same about me."

"But he was hurt and he was helping. Bonnie. You know he's not the same as he was."

"No, Elena, I don't know that. I know he brought Alaric to us when he had died and then he took off. But I did let Isobel in when she asked to see Alaric."

"You let Isobel in, but not Damon. You're picking sides, Bonnie. Everyone but Damon."

"Grams wouldn't let him in. How can I?"

"Emily helped him. You know that when he became a vampire, she helped him until he changed."

"I know, Elena, and I know you are picking and choosing. Damon did not always get along with Emily, and he never got along with Grams."

"Could it be because she trapped him in the tomb that she knew he could not get out of?"

"And he never meant us any harm?"

"He helps me, Bonnie. He protects me."

"I do too. I told you I would do anything you asked of me to protect you. I made a promise and I will keep it. But I think you need to be protected from him."

"He does anything I ask of him without question, without hesitation. I don't need protection from him. He'll do anything for me."

"Yes he will, Elena. No matter who else gets hurt."

* * *

The Reveal

"Vampires?" Jenna said, totally shocked. "That's just a bunch of old stories – fables to explain away deaths in the woods. There's no such thing."

"Are you so sure?" Stefan asked. "Even after what you've seen today? Did you see nothing unusual?"

"Yeah, you were fast, so was she," Jenna said, pointing at Isobel. "But I was in shock. Maybe I didn't see things as they were."

"And Alaric?"

Isobel had heard enough – she retreated to a corner of the room away from Rick and the others. She couldn't bear to be near him anymore – afraid of what she would do. And this other conversation was insane. She thought she should just provide a demonstration – an object lesson so to speak.

"What, Alaric's a vampire too?" Jenna asked.

"No," Stefan said, beginning to think it would have not been such a bad idea to tell her to just ask Elena, like everyone else had done. But Elena didn't need to deal with this as well. "He's not. But what happened to him is extraordinary. It is related to all of this. And one of the guys attacking you was trying to bite you when I got there."

Jenna closed her eyes and shuddered as she remembered. If nothing else he said was true, this was. Stefan had saved her.

"Please tell me that Elena is safe, that no one is attacking her."

"She's safe," Bonnie said as she walked in the room, holding the phone. "Safe and bitchy as ever."

Bonnie carried the phone to Isobel. "Elena would like to talk to you."

"Would she?" Isobel said, taking the phone. She almost assumed her icy tone, but how could she after her talk with Rick?

"Hello Elena."

"Hi." Elena wasn't sure what Isobel was doing there, so decided to get right to the point. "Katherine said you could help Damon or Stefan if I asked. I am asking you to help Damon."

"What kind of help, Elena?"

"I think he's trying to track the guys that hurt Jenna. He said he's at my house trying to pick up their trail. I asked him to stay there and wait for me, for us, and he said he would. But I would feel better if you would go to him and keep him there or help him or stay with him or something."

"Or something. OK, Elena. I will go. I think my welcome here is wearing thin anyway."

"Will you call me when you're with him?"

"I will if I can, Elena. It should only be a few minutes."

"OK. Thank you," Elena said as she disconnected.

Alaric was standing next to Isobel by now. "Elena?" he asked.

Isobel nodded and forced a smile. "You help her, and now it's my turn. I do hope we see each other again soon, Rick. Take care of yourself, and Elena, until then. OK?"

He nodded and let her kiss him on the cheek as she went to the door that Bonnie was holding open for her.

Isobel paused and faced Bonnie before leaving. "Thank you Bonnie Bennett. I keep my promises. I will never enter your home uninvited. And I am in your debt. If I can ever do anything for you, you need only ask." Then Isobel was through the door and out of sight.

* * *

Protection Needn't Equal Truth

Isobel moved at top speed to the Gilbert house. She thought it was funny. The last time she had run like this, she was following Damon who was carrying Elena to safety. Here she was again, following Damon for Elena.

She wasn't terribly surprised when she reached the Gilbert house and Damon was not there. She couldn't enter, but she concentrated and listened. He wasn't inside or outside. Like so many, he was doing what he thought he needed to do to protect Elena. And, as was so often the case, that meant that he didn't do exactly what he told Elena he would do.

She began to look for a trail to follow...


	3. Questions and Invitations

Questions Asked, Questions Answered

It took awhile for Jenna to build up the courage, but she finally approached Alaric and asked him to talk to her in private. She wasn't sure he would be willing, but he agreed.

Now she had to build up the courage to ask him the hard questions.

She tried to assess his appearance. He look pretty much normal. He had removed and trashed the messy shirt. Bonnie had found a t-shirt he could wear so he would be presentable.

He certainly looked good to Jenna when compared to the way he had come in.

"Jenna?" Alaric asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She looked into his eyes now and said the first thing that came to her mind. "You lied to me."

Alaric wasn't sure exactly what she was referring to and was going to ask when she interrupted him.

"You said you were bringing Elena here, to Bonnie's house. Where is she?"

"I'm not sure."

"How could you leave her then? I trusted you to take her."

"How much did Stefan tell you?" Alaric asked.

"He told me a lot. He said you were dead and came back. He said he is a vampire. And he said Elena is fine even though no one knows where she is or what she is doing. I'm expecting better from you."

Alaric took a breath and decided he would do it. She was her guardian, now she knew. And he was sure she would protect Elena – at least as much as she could.

Seeing his hesitation, Jenna said "Promise me you won't lie to me."

"I promise," Alaric said.

"Where is Elena?"

"I don't know. I took her to a rendezvous point and she went the rest of the way she was going with others."

"With who?"

"I don't know. I was helping her do her job."

"She has a job? Working for who."

'No time wasted getting to the real test' Alaric thought. But he didn't hesitate. "She works for a vampire named Katherine. When Elena asks, I help her – mostly getting to places she needs to be."

"And keeping me in the dark," Jenna said.

Alaric nodded. He couldn't read her expression.

"You're telling me that what the others have said is true. That Stefan Salvatore needs blood to live. That you were dead and came back."

"I am. Yes, it is true."

"And do you believe Elena is safe even though you don't know where she is?"

"I believe it."

"How could you keep this from me? It's about Elena. Why would you not tell me?"

"Because she asked me not to, and I usually end up doing as she asks. She was protecting you, Jenna."

"Why would I need protection?"

"Do you have to ask after tonight? This world of vampires you're in now is dangerous."

"Stefan said one of those that attacked me was a vampire. And you believe him. But how can Elena be safe then?"

"She has more people protecting her than you'll ever know. But if I'm being truthful, she's not safe. She is safer than me or you. But nobody's safe here."

* * *

The Call

Isobel found Damon and kept her promise – she called Elena.

"Isobel?" Elena said as soon as it rang.

"Found him."

"Is he OK?"

"Yes. He's outside a house, sitting. It looks like he is trying to figure out a way in."

"OK, give me the address. We're about ten minutes out of town now."

* * *

Uninvited

Damon had just decided what to do when he heard her approach.

"Careful, there's vampires in that house. You might be heard." Damon said. He looked irritated at the interruption.

"I'm sure you've ruled that out or you wouldn't be so noisy," Isobel said. "How many vampires? I was told you were only following one."

"Three." Damon said.

"Well, when Elena gets here with the others, we'll be able to take them without any problem."

"When Elena gets here? Elena is coming here to the vampires who want to kill her? Do you not get the strategy? In case you were inattentive, your job is to keep her as far away from the 'evil' vampires as possible."

"Try telling her that."

"Anyway, we can't get into the house. I've tried. I couldn't even break a window."

"Then the owner lives and is probably in there right now. So did you throw a rock through a window?"

"Of course not. I'm stealthier than that."

"Do they know you're here, Damon? Are they expecting trouble?"

"They don't know."

"Good. Then we can wait for Elena and decide what to do then."

"I'm not waiting for her. I'm going to find out if they were after her before she gets here."

"Damon, she wants you to wait. And what are you going to do, knock on the door?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to do. I've tried everything else."

"Damon, she will be here in less than ten minutes. Wait for her."

"Ten minutes. Then I need to get started."

"Damon, what if they all come out after you?"

"Then I hope she's early. You can take one of them. I can hold off anyone, or any two, for ten minutes."

Damon was knocking on the door now. Isobel hid in a nearby shadow.

The door was not opened by a human. It was a big, ugly vampire.

Damon got in his face – as much as he could with a barrier between them.

"Someone visited the Gilbert house today. Caused some trouble. Hurt people I care about. And I'm thinking it was you."

The other vampire wasn't fazed. He glared right back at Damon, not speaking.

"Were you after Elena? Jeremy?"

"Where is she?" The vampire finally spoke, or rather growled. "She can't hide."

"She doesn't hide," Damon shot back. "You want her? You have to start with me."

Damon actually moved forward and hit the barrier – the barrier that kept uninvited vampires from entering.

As he was falling back, the other vampire grabbed Damon and pulled him back into the barrier. He let him go and pulled him back several times until Damon was staggering.

Then the vampire came out after him.

Isobel was immediately on him. She pulled him off of Damon and fought to keep him away. A human and another vampire came out now and pulled Damon into the house, the human saying "come in" at just the right moment. The door closed, leaving Isobel with a vampire to fight while trying to come up with an explanation for Elena.

* * *

Invitation Not Required

Elena arrived and was out of the car immediately. One of the vampires with her went immediately to Isobel's aid and destroyed the vampire attacking her.

Elena ran to Isobel as soon as she could. "Are you OK?"

Isobel nodded. She really was.

"Damon?" Elena asked.

"Inside."

"Inside? Then why are you out here fighting alone?"

"He's not a guest Elena, he's a prisoner – if he's anything alive at all. They took him."

Elena didn't take this well. "No. You weren't supposed to let this happen."

"Blame me later if you must, Elena. Right now, let's just get him out of there."

"OK," Elena said thinking. "How many are in there."

"Vampires? Damon said three, so two now. And at least one human – the home owner."

"Then we can take them. We'll all go in and get him."

"Vampires can't go in there Elena. We're not invited."

"Damon's in there!" Elena's emotions were getting the best of her.

"He was invited. No one else. You know this stuff Elena. Calm down. We need a plan."

Elena glared at Isobel, but knew she was right. She paused for a minute.

"I can go in there."

"No, you can't Elena." Isobel retorted in full icy ready-to-kill vampire mode.

"I can and I have to. I'm not leaving him alone."

"Katherine would literally kill me if I let you go in there."

Elena looked at her hard expression for a moment, wondering how to convince her when another idea hit her.

"Katherine," She said almost to herself. "Would they know Katherine?" She asked Isobel, nodding toward the house.

"Maybe. Probably, since they seem to know who you are."

"Then they will see Katherine," Elena said, removing her vervain necklace and putting in a pants pocket.

"Elena, they could compel you." The icy tone was gone from Isobel. "They came here to hurt you or take you, and you're going to walk into their lair? We can't go in!"

Elena was desperate for anything now. "Then I'll sneak in and make it possible for you to follow."

"By killing the owner? Could you even do that?"

"Do you think he would live after what's happened anyway? If not me, Damon could do it."

"Damon is in no shape to swat a fly. It can't be him and you aren't up to it."

Elena shook her head. "Then they meet Katherine. Find a way to cover my back," she said, staring icily at Isobel.


	4. The Truth

The Pause

Isobel picked Elena up and moved away from the house at top speed for 30 seconds or so.

She stopped and held Elena tightly. "If you try that – the Katherine thing, this is what will happen. And I won't stop next time."

Elena knew she had been brought far enough that Damon could be dead long before she could get back. She struggled but Isobel held firm.

"Take me back."

"Think for a minute Elena. We have to know what we're doing before we do anything, or he and you will both be dead, along with me and everyone else Katherine deems responsible."

"You know Katherine is protecting Damon as well as me."

"Yes. And I know she would want you as far away as possible. I only stopped because you really are our only way in."

"OK. I understand. Please put me down and let me stand for a second."

Isobel did.

"Did you have a plan?" Elena asked.

"They came for you. All I can think of is to give them what they want."

"You weren't going to let me walk into their 'lair' a minute ago. What changed?"

"Nothing. You're not going into that house, in fact you're not going back there until we have a plan – a plan better than 'Elena walks in and dies with Damon'."

"OK." Elena said and began to think. This was not her strength. She usually just rushed into tombs or burning buildings or whatever and did what felt right. That was not going to work this time.

* * *

The Truth and Elena

Damon was pretending to still be weak. He had been doing this for some time.

When the vampire started pulling him into the barrier, he eventually realized what was happening, and that this could be his way in. But it would cause him some problems if he let it continue. So after he realized what was happening, he began to wobble, to stagger.

He was convincing – it wasn't long before the vampire came after him. When Isobel took him out, Damon almost turned to help her. He heard the others leaving the house in time to maintain his ruse. He held back when they began to drag him inside. At least he hoped he was holding back. He actually was feeling a little wobbly when they started dragging him in. He was not sure how much of it was ruse, and how much of it was actual damage.

But he would heal – fairly quickly.

They didn't have anything fancy to restrain him. It appeared they did not expect to be holding a vampire – maybe Elena. Nothing more. They tied him to a chair with ropes. They had to know that this would not hold him forever. Maybe for awhile, in his staggered state. They added a human – not the owner, perhaps the other one that had attacked Jenna – with a stake held up against his chest. Eventually, they were going to use it – when they thought he was a threat, or not useful.

Damon decided to not act like a threat, and he decided to be useful.

With Damon secured, an interrogation of sorts began. They had heard him talk to the other vampire about Elena and they began to ask about her.

Since Damon was dazed – to some extent actually and to some extent pretending to be – they were doing lots of face slapping to try to get his attention or to get him to answer.

At first he intended to tell them that Elena had heard about the attack and left town. But Elena and the truth were connected – some kind of odd sibling relationship or something. She fought against the truth, she hid it, she denied it, but in the end, she was there right next to it, telling it and being supported by it. And the truth was, Elena would eventually come through the front door. It wouldn't matter if he was dead or alive, it wouldn't matter if she was alone or with others. She would come through just as soon as she could. Which meant that, even though she would be surrounded by her idiot protectors, who could not enter - she would be coming in alone. And she called them 'idiots'.

Knowing that, he confirmed his connection with her to his interrogators. He convinced them that she would come to them, as long as he was alive. And he pretended weakness while they only damaged his face. They did not interfere with the rest of him – which was recovering.

He knew that when she came through the door, alone, he would need to be fast. He would need to be by her side immediately.

* * *

How to React to the Truth?

Jenna was angry, scared and concerned. The anger came from the lies she had heard for so long from Elena, Alaric, Jeremy and the Salvatores. All this time she had been worried about Elena, trying everything she could think of to help. And nothing worked. But she had no idea about the situation.

She was scared because her home had been invaded. It didn't matter by who or what. She wasn't safe in Mystic Falls – something she never thought she would say.

And she was concerned for Elena. Bonnie had talked to Elena. Damon had called saying she would be back as soon as possible. But recently they had tried to call her and Damon. Both phones went unanswered. Damon's went straight to voicemail. Elena's rang but was not answered. Stefan had said she may have it on vibrate, but would only do that if she were afraid it would be heard by someone, actually a vampire, that she did not want to hear. He was afraid it meant she expected trouble.

At least he wasn't lying to her anymore. Not that it helped.

Stefan had left the house to do a quick scan of the area – to see if vampires or basically anything he did not like was nearby.

Jenna managed to pull Alaric into a private area again.

"I don't know whether to kill you for keeping all of this from my or to thank you for helping keep Elena safe," she told him. "All I know is that I'm really angry about all of this. How could you keep this a secret. Not just from me, but from everybody? Everyone in town is in danger."

"They're in danger whether they know it or not, Jenna."

"And why wouldn't I tell them? The sheriff needs to know what she's dealing with."

"She already knows, Jenna. So does the town council. They know most of what you know and a lot you don't know. They know that since the town's founding, there have, from time to time, been vampires here. They know that a lot of townsmen have fought them, including the Gilberts. They know that nearly everyone in town was involved in the fight against vampires at first, but as it became less accepted, many forgot. But some remain in the know."

Jenna did not respond, so Alaric continued. "What they don't know right now is the who. They don 't know about Stefan and Damon. They don't know about Elena or Katherine. They think Damon fights the vampires with them – and they're right. He does. So do Stefan and Elena. They don't know they have unseen help, and some of that help is from vampires."

"But people could be killed. I was attacked by a vampire."

"People are killed by more than vampires, Jenna. You could have been attacked by anyone. What you need to remember, is that you were helped by vampires. You were protected by vampires. And those vampires were there because of Elena."

Jenna nodded, understanding. "I don't have any idea what to say to her. I want to confront her about lies, I want to yell at her for taking risks. I want to tell her what it was like to worry about her so much but not to know what she was facing. And I want to thank her for asking people to help me. I don't know what to think, say or do."

"Then wait until you do know," Alaric said. "Neither of you can change anything that's happened. She never meant to cause you or anyone else pain or worry. And she has helped to protect a lot of people, including Bonnie, you and Jeremy. Whatever you say won't undo the good she's done, and you wouldn't want to anyway. However, it might affect what she does in the future. Don't make it harder for her."

Stefan came in then with Jeremy.

"It's clear around here," Stefan said. "Should we try to find them?"

"Fine with me." Alaric said.

"Shouldn't we call the sheriff or someone?" Jenna asked.

Stefan shook his head. "Bonnie will find Elena. She's doing a locator spell now."

"Spell?" Jenna asked looking at Alaric.

"Oh, didn't we cover that? Bonnie is a witch."

* * *

Hiding the Truth

Neither Isobel nor Elena was satisfied. They had come up with a plan that they both accepted. Which meant that Elena thought it was too slow, too risky for Damon. Isobel thought it had a chance, a small chance, of keeping Elena alive even though she insisted on going into the house.

Elena was fingering the stake she held. She had another hidden in her jacket, easily accessible. She also had a knife hidden on her. She was fairly well armed – she could use those things. Just stab. She could do that.

The idiots, who had armed her, didn't have anything else she recognized or thought she could use. She would have to remember to get a couple of vervain darts from Alaric to keep on her for times like this. They would have worked well in this plan.

Elena watched as Isobel told the other vampires of the plan, showing them where they could be hidden, but available if needed. She was appreciating Isobel lately. They had started off badly. But Isobel had helped her more than once. She never acted motherly, but that was fine – Elena had a mother. But she had come to trust Isobel. She had given good advice. And she had even made a pact with Katherine in exchange for Elena's safety.

Like mother, like daughter.

Isobel approached. "It's time. Are you ready?"

"My way was better," Elena said. "Just get in there and do something – anything. My heart's beating so fast now I'll probably die of a heart attack."

"With your way, you would already be dead. And a fast beating heart will work well for this."

Isobel offered her hand and Elena took it as readily as if it were Stefan's, or more recently, Damon's. They walked to the doorstep where Elena held her hands behind her as if she was handcuffed, holding the stake in one. Isobel grabbed Elena's arm with one hand, and used the other to ring the bell and knock on the door.

Elena put on her best "I am under compulsion" face.

It took longer than Elena hoped. She was afraid she would have to just walk through the door after all – but at least she was armed now.

"I have Elena Gilbert," Isobel said a couple of times between knocks. Finally the door opened. It was only one person – or vampire. Elena could not tell.

Isobel could. "I have Elena Gilbert. I will trade her for Damon."

The vampire stared at Elena for a minute before turning to Isobel and asking "Why?"

"I love him. He made me. And she is a Gilbert."

"She is protected. How did you get her?"

"A trade? Yes or no?"

A commotion came from Isobel's other side – the side opposite Elena. Elena watched carefully as the vampires eyes were drawn to it. Then she struck at the vampire with the stake.

"If it works, it will work no matter where you hit him," Isobel had said. "Just get it into him."

She was right. The stake entered the vampire just above the waist. He reacted immediately, grabbing Elena and pulling her into the room – or really throwing her into the room.

But it had the desired effect. As his hand pulled Elena in and he twisted in reaction to the stake, part of him came out of the house, through the barrier. Isobel had him immediately. And she had help immediately. The vampire was off balance, and quickly pulled through the barrier and pounced upon.

Elena saw this as she went sideways through the air into the house with at least one vampire, one hostile human and Damon. Isobel had done what she could and now it was up to Elena.


	5. Not Losing Anyone Else

The Choice

Elena knew she would hit a wall somewhere. She tried to turn herself so that her back would hit the wall she knew she was approaching. It worked fairly well.

Damon had heard the door open and Isobel speaking. The human was fairly good, at first, about keeping the stake pushed against his chest. So Damon tested his strength against the ropes. Not good. He was not as strong as he had hoped.

Then he saw Elena coming in and the vampire being pulled out. The human loosened his grip on the stake as he turned around to look. Damon was up, lifting the chair with him, and at the human's neck. He knew he could not spend much time, but the bites were quickly effective and the human was at least disabled, if not more.

Then Damon turned to Elena. She had hit the wall and was struggling to her feet while at the same time trying to pull a stake and a knife from her jacket. And the remaining vampire, while starting near the door, was now moving towards her. Damon went, chair and all, to stop him. He did get between them, though he knocked Elena down with the chair before managing to turn it towards the attacking vampire. The chair was demolished in the collision, leaving Damon tangled in a mix of rope and wood splinters. He had kept the vampire from Elena, but he was having a hard time getting out of the mess. And the vampire was in full assault mode against him.

Elena struggled to get up again, watching Damon, relieved she was able to hold onto the stake and the knife.

She glanced away from him for a second to pull herself back up. When she looked up, someone else was jumping at her. She raised one hand, not sure what it held. It was the stake – he had jumped right into it.

Elena realized immediately that it wasn't the vampire – it was still fighting Damon. And Damon was losing. The man fell to the floor on his back, struggling to pull the stake out.

Elena saw that Isobel and other vampires were at the door – unable to enter. She kicked the stake in farther and spoke to the man.

"Is this your house?"

When he did not answer, she yelled at the man. "Invite them in."

He ignored her and tried to pull the stake out.

Elena put the knife to his neck. "Invite them in now."

The man only shook his head and kept struggling.

Elena risked a glance to Damon again. She knew it wouldn't last much longer.

"Please don't make me do this. Invite them in."

He didn't.

Elena wasn't sure how it should be done, so she just moved the knife – slicing and stabbing his throat almost blindly, until she saw vampires bursting through the door and rushing to Damon. Elena dropped the knife and turned over, curled up and started to cry.

She was unaware of anything else going on until she felt someone lift her and carry her to the couch where she was carefully placed in a sitting position. Isobel sat next to her.

The tears were nearly gone now. Elena rested her head on Isobel's lap. When she was done crying, Isobel leaned in and whispered to her.

"You saved him Elena. He would have died if you hadn't."

Elena didn't respond.

"He saved Jenna and you saved him. You did what you had to do and he is alive because of it."

"Is he OK?" Elena managed to ask.

"He is. A little beat up, but he will be fine."

Elena sat up and looked at Isobel. "I can't believe I did that. Please, no one can know."

Isobel nodded. "I'll have to tell Katherine, and Damon will need to know. But no one else. Not from me."

Elena nodded and hugged Isobel.

* * *

Beck and Call

"Your phone is vibrating," Isobel told Elena. Elena was standing next to Damon. He claimed to be as strong as ever – though his face did not show that. It had been awhile. Maybe he was feeling better.

Elena pulled out the phone Katherine had given her.

"Not that one. The one you left in the car," Isobel said.

"Oh. Let it vibrate," Elena said. "Or you could take it for me and tell them to leave me alone."

"Why of course Elena." Isobel said, sarcastically. "I am most happy to assist you in any capacity."

Elena was stunned when Isobel actually did go to the car and answer her phone.

She had told Damon what had happened. He assured her she had only done what she had to do to save him – and herself. Like that helped.

Isobel brought Elena's phone back to her. "They are on their way here."

"Did you tell them where I am?" Elena asked Isobel.

"No. A locator spell was performed."

Elena nodded.

"And you should know," Isobel continued, "that your aunt was told everything about you and us."

"What?" Elena asked - shocked.

"They thought they had to, Elena. She had seen so much when they were protecting her – taking her to safety."

Elena shook her head. This was too much. She spoke to Damon.

"Are you up to taking me somewhere? Somewhere we can have some privacy for awhile?"

Damon nodded.

"Will you stay here and tell them to leave me alone for awhile?" Elena asked Isobel. "No spells or calls. I will be home soon, but I need some space for a bit."

"At your beck and call," Isobel said. That was sarcastic – the rest was not. "We have some cleanup anyway. But you will have one unseen escort with you – more when we are done here."

Elena nodded. "OK. Thanks. Damon?"

* * *

Promises and Requests

Elena didn't know exactly where she was. Just that they had stopped and she and Damon were lying next to each other, talking. She was outside, it was daytime now. She thought she could do this forever.

"That was the man who shot me Elena, and Rick. He attacked Jenna. She would not have lived if he had his way. Others probably would have died. Others may have already – someone does not do that so easily the first time."

Elena hesitated before asking. "I asked Isobel to not tell anyone else – I mean other than you and Katherine. Would you do that for me as well, unless I ask?"

"Yes, Elena. I keep will keep this and any other secret for you."

Elena was going to tell him it was not a secret, but stopped herself. Actually it was.

"What were you doing in there alone, Damon?" she asked. "Why didn't you wait for me as I asked. You know I will always come to you."

"And I will always try to be a step ahead of anyone trying to hurt you. That's what I was doing."

Elena shook her head and fingered the bracelet. "We're going to keep doing this forever, aren't we?"

"If you live that long," Damon agreed. "I'm not going to stop interfering with people trying to hurt you, and I hope you won't stop coming to me when I am in trouble."

"I'm not stopping." Elena said. She wanted to turn over and get some sleep, but there was music to be faced.

Elena fingered the bracelet again, thinking. Damon watched her briefly before speaking.

"Getting close to a decision?" He asked her.

"Yeah. Don't press it now though, please."

"Sure. Want to share why?"

"It's leaning so far in your favor, one little push or pull would topple it. But I'll have to think about Stefan before I decide. And I don't want to think about him now."

Damon nodded.

"Will you do one more thing for me Damon?" Elena asked after a brief pause.

"Since you saved me one more time, yes I will. What is it?"

"If I ask, will you use compulsion on Jenna – will you have her forget all of this – if I ask?"

"You have her on vervain, don't you?"

"She wears it, it can be removed. I couldn't get her to eat or drink any. She didn't like the taste."

"Will you give her a choice, Elena?"

"Yes. Will you do it if I ask?"

"Yes."

* * *

Music and Choices

Jenna was with Stefan when Damon brought Elena home.

"Elena, are you OK?" Jenna asked. "I was so worried."

"I'm fine Jenna," Elena responded. "Are you?"

"I am, thanks to these guys and others."

"Yeah. Thank you Stefan," Elena said. "Thank you for keeping her and Jeremy safe. I owe you."

"You know I'd do anything for you, Elena," Stefan said.

"I do." Elena said, purposely keeping eye contact with him – which was broken off by Jenna.

"We need to talk, Elena." Jenna said. "Rick said I should wait until I have formulated questions, and I am not quite ready, but I will be soon."

"I will answer your questions, Jenna." Elena said, "but you need to know that you don't have to remember this."

Jenna did not understand. "What do you mean?"

"You can forget. You can go back to your life as it was a few days ago – no worry about vampires, no danger from them because of me. You can go back to believing they were fables. You can go back to fretting over me, Jeremy and Alaric Salzman. Wouldn't you rather have that back?"

"Elena, no! I finally understand what you're going through, I can finally try to help you. And I need to protect you."

"I will protect you. And I promise I will let you help me. I will talk more to you, share more with you. Just not about this."

"I don't want that, Elena. I want you as you are." Jenna said, not knowing exactly what was happening, but concerned about it.

"And I want you as you were."

Stefan finally spoke. "Elena, she should have a choice. Why would you even consider this?"

"Because I've lost too much," Elena answered. "My parents are gone, my brother and best friend have been corrupted by this. I've even lost myself to this. She's all I have left of my old life. I'm not losing anymore. And she has a choice. She's just making the wrong one."

Stefan glared at Damon. "You would do this for her?"

Damon responded to Elena. "You said you would let her choose."

"I did. She chose wrong. Will you do it for me?"

"Elena, what is going on. What are you doing?" Jenna asked.

"Tomorrow." Damon said. "Elena, consider this carefully. Remember what happened with Jeremy. If you still want it, I will do it for you tomorrow."

Elena nodded and headed up the stairs, followed by a frantic Jenna

"You'll do anything for her," Stefan said to Damon. "no matter who gets hurt. Just like Katherine."

"Yeah," Damon responded. "Isobel warned me."

"Isobel?"

"Yes. I saw her during the Bonnie incident. She said Elena wanted the same things Katherine wanted at first – everyone happy no one to be upset or to get hurt. But she said that what Elena wants would change – Elena would change. Just like Katherine did. And she was right. And yes, I will do anything Elena asks me to – just like I will do whatever Katherine asks me to.

* * *

"_Here's to us, one more toast and then we'll pay the bill_

_Deep inside both of us can feel the Autumn chill…"_

_ABBA – __When all is Said and Done_

_I've tried to give up on all of this so often that I've given up on giving up. So now I'm lowered to quoting ABBA._

_I think this just might be it. It's staring to hurt – this abuse I'm inflicting on Elena. And I like her too much to give her too much abuse._

_And with the real game starting in a couple of weeks, I don't know how much longer I can keep up this Little League game of mine. Major League opening day is close – and I want to play that game._

_So if anything else comes before then, you know what will happen._

_If not – Thanks for playing. Thanks for the kind comments from so many. I have had a blast, and I'm glad others have as well…_

_Not to scare you too much more, but to quote the superb Swedes (who supposedly turned down a billion dollars to reunite – why would they, they had done it all…) again:_

"_Thanks for all your generous love and thanks for all the fun  
Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done"_

_"It's so strange when you're down and lying on the floor_  
_How you rise, shake your head, get up and ask for more_  
_Clear-headed and open-eyed_  
_With nothing left untried_

___"Standing calmly at the crossroads, no desire to run  
There's no hurry any more when all is said and done"  
_  


_Thanks for coming this far with me._

_John Reed…_


	6. Epilogue  Witch's Surprise

"Hi. Can we talk for a minute?"

Bonnie had just opened her door to Elena's knock. The visit was not expected. But it was Elena. She was welcome anytime.

Bonnie managed a smile and nodded her head towards the inside of her house.

"What's up?" Bonnie asked.

Elena took a deep breath. It had been hard when she told Jeremy, harder when she told Alaric. Now she had to explain to Bonnie that Jenna would not remember the incident at home or at Bonnie's house just a couple of days earlier.

Damon had made sure the needed repairs to the Gilbert house were done. Then he had done as she asked.

No one was taking it well. It seemed everyone's opinion of her was diminishing. Jeremy wasn't talking to her again. Alaric just nodded and invited her out. Stefan had barely acknowledged her the only time she had seen him since it had happened. Even Damon was more reserved, less open around her.

She felt completely alone. She almost wanted to do something reckless enough that she would be surrounded by the idiots again, something that would bring them close enough to her to be seen. She kind of wanted to see someone helping her, protecting her. And not judging her.

Worst of all, she wondered if everyone was right. Had she been selfish? Was she changing?

Of course she was. But she could choose the change. She could make it for the better. Was she changing for the better or the worse?

"You've been my friend forever, Bonnie. You help me, you celebrate with me. Sometimes you yell at me, but you care. At least that's always what I've thought. Am I wrong?"

"No. You're right."

"You need to know that I asked Damon to compel Jenna to forget about when she was attacked, brought here and learned about vampires and witches."

"You mean about vampires, witches and Elena."

"I do." Elena said nodding. "I couldn't bring her into this, Bonnie. Everyone else seems to think I did wrong, but I couldn't leave it like that. She's done too much for me, worried about me too much. I couldn't."

It wasn't quite the reason she had given Damon, but it was what she was wanting to believe.

"I understand, Elena."

Elena was surprised. "You do?"

"Yes." Bonnie said. "You're the only one who knows about me and my family. Well, you were, but now some of those that help you know. And if it weren't for you, I'd try to erase their knowledge about me. It's not safe for them or me."

"Exactly, the rest of us can help each other, protect each other. Jenna would be alone. Who knows what would happen?"

Bonnie nodded, then looked at Elena and asked "Convince yourself yet?"

Elena stared at Bonnie for a minute, then shook her head. "I'll never know if I did the right thing. And I'm not sure anyone who knows will ever completely trust me again."

"Well, I never completely trusted you."

"Bonnie!"

"And you don't completely trust me Elena. Too many mistakes by both of us. Too much faith in the wrong people. You trust vampires too much and I fear them too much."

"Vampires do seem to be at the root of all the problems between us," Elena agreed.

"Now if we can just agree on a way to eliminate the problem," Bonnie said with a slight smile.

"Which is another reason I'm here. Not to eliminate the problem – but to affect it. Bonnie, would you put a spell on a vampire for me?"

-To be continued in something tentatively titled "Living the life that she chose…"-

* * *

_You are wonderful people, but sometimes you do __no__t help. Like when I'm trying, ever so hard, to control my problems. Well, this problem. I'm going to need counseling soon if I cannot give this up. Surely there's a program - 10 or 12 steps or whatever. And surely the 1__st__ step is to embrace the problem_

_So let's embrace. Everything I said before is true…almost. It will end – in a couple of weeks. Until then, I surrender. If we're gonna play, let's play. _

_Or to(mis)quote a very unABBA-like, yet still magnificent piece of music (almost all of which is inappropriate for here – but it sort of conveys the message):_

Player, player, pop the style, N-trance is in the house to make the  
party wild, It's the new dance another smash so let me set it, See  
how we rollin' this year, copacetic (_ooooh, better skip some lyrics here_)

... Somebody stop me! (_Please, please, please….)_

Take it up another notch, let me see how you stack & what you  
really got ... You thought I was a sleeper, oh let me see now, oh ,who got  
the fever? N-trance and the only one, nine seven in the mix & it's just begun,  
Coz it be going down like this, it's the rhymes from the source that you can't  
resist…

_Let the games begin (or rather continue…)_


End file.
